Euro 2020
Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona stars could beat Lewandowski for 2021 Ballon D’Or
The Ballon d’Or is arguably the most prestigious individual award in modern football, celebrating the beautiful game’s best player from the previous year. Now it is worth noting that the Ballon d’Or is not the be-all-and-end-all of football. It’s often biased towards those who shine in the Champions League. Media hype, big moments, and trophies won usually take precedence in the voting over individual performances. In fact, all Ballon dOr winners since 2007 has either won the Champions League or been the competition’s top goalscorer, and all since 2007 have reached at least the semi-finals stage. With no obvious standout, however, this summer’s international tournaments could be decisive. Lionel Messi and co. will compete in the Copa America, while Europe’s finest battle it out at the Euro...
Ally McCoist urges Gareth Southgate to pick Manchester United man
Ally McCoist has weighed in on England’s right-back situation, believing that Aaron Wan-Bissaka should be in the squad for this summer’s European Championships. Wan-Bissaka has been a regular for Manchester United this season, starting 29 of their 31 Premier League games and every European fixture. He has contributed to United keeping 19 clean sheets in all competitions and helped his side to second in the Premier League. Wan-Bissaka and Greenwood celebrate at Man Utd defeat Tottenham The former Crystal Palace man is considered one of the world’s finest one-on-one defenders, renowned for his tackling ability. However, his attacking contribution is limited, especially in comparison to other English right-backs. The 23-year-old is yet to receive a cap for the England national team, receiving...
UEFA confirms Rome as Euro 2020 host city
Rome’s Stadio Olimpico has been “fully confirmed” as a venue for Euro 2020 matches after the Italian government guaranteed the presence of at least 25 per cent of fans, UEFA announced on Wednesday. Rome was one of four of the 12 host cities threatened with having its matches removed because it could not give assurances that spectators would be allowed into grounds given the ongoing Covid-19 situation. “The authorities have guaranteed at least 25 per cent of the stadium’s capacity will be filled,” European football’s governing body said. “As a result, UEFA considers Rome to be fully confirmed as a venue for the tournament.” Three other cities — Munich, Bilbao and Dublin — have until April 19 to provide UEFA with additional information on their plans for spectators. Rome is set to host the o...
Bayern Munich legend tips Hansi Flick for Germany job
Bayern Munich legend Lothar Matthaus has claimed that Bayern Munich manager Hansi Flick will replace Joachim Low in charge of the German national team. Flick was appointed as Bayern Munich manager in November 2019 on an initial interim basis, following the departure of previous manager Niko Kovac. In his first season, he exceeded all expectations, winning all three major trophies available to him. Flick won a treble last season This season, things haven’t been as successful. The Bavarians remain in the driving seat for a ninth successive Bundesliga title, but have been eliminated early in the Champions League and DFB Pokal. Last week, it was reported that the 56-year-old was set to leave the Allianz Arena and take over from Joachim Low at the German national team after this summer’s Europe...
Lingard and Garner steal the headlines, but how are the rest of Man Utd’s loanees doing this season?
Manchester United’s link with their academy is synonymous and the list of talent which has come through the ranks onto the pitch at Old Trafford is endless. However, progression into the first team isn’t something which comes easy, and even those of the most fame now – including David Beckham – sometimes have to go out on loan to prove their worth. We’ve profiled some of the United players currently out on loan this season – both young and old – and assessed what their chances are of returning to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s line-up at Old Trafford anytime soon. Jesse Lingard We’re going to start off with the players currently loaned out to clubs within the United Kingdom and undoubtedly, Jesse Lingard has started to shine since his move to West Ham United. The 28-year-old is the only name on th...
March International Break Round-Up – Manchester City
With the March international break reaching its conclusion, players only have a short amount of time before they’re expected to be back in action with their club sides over the Easter weekend. Manchester City visit Leicester City on Saturday, and we’re going to look at how the 15 internationals in Pep Guardiola’s squad fared during their respective national duties ahead of that game. ENGLAND Four of City’s squad were called up to Gareth Southgate’s national team squad for their World Cup qualifiers, and all four will be at least reasonably happy with their playing time across the three matches – all of which were victories. Centre-back John Stones was back in the national team setup for the first time since November 2019 and played the first half of a 5-0 victory over San Marino at Wembley...
March International Break Round-Up – Manchester United
With the March international break reaching its conclusion, players only have a short amount of time before they’re expected to be back in action with their club sides over the Easter weekend. Ahead of Manchester United’s clash with Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday, we’re going to take a look at how the 15 internationals in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s squad fared during their respective national duties. ENGLAND What started as four call-ups from Old Trafford to Gareth Southgate’s squad ended in four and a loanee as Marcus Rashford was forced to withdraw from international duty before a ball had been kicked, opting to focus on rehabilitation from an injury instead. Goalkeeper Dean Henderson joined the Three Lions squad but failed to make an appearance across the three World Cup qualification v...
Virgil van Dijk could return in eight weeks, claims Netherlands boss
Netherlands national team manager Frank de Boer has claimed that Virgil van Dijk has eight weeks left in his recovery from a long-term injury. Van Dijk was on the end of a heavy challenge from Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford in last October’s Merseyside derby at Goodison Park. The tackle caused damage to his anterior cruciate ligament, keeping him out of action for a minimum of six months. Van Dijk has not featured since his injury in October The Dutchman has not made an appearance since the incident, and the Reds have suffered as a result. Their title defence has been a disaster, as they currently sit 25 points off runaway leaders Manchester City. However, Netherlands boss Frank de Boer has not ruled out the possibility of the defender returning in time for this summer’s European Champ...
UEFA considering moving all Euro 2020 games to UK
UEFA considering moving all Euro 2020 games to UK – originally posted on Sportslens.com European football governing board UEFA are reportedly in talks with the English Football Association over possibly holding the 2020 European Championships in the UK. Being the 60th anniversary of the first European Championships, Euro 2020 was scheduled to be hosted in 12 different cities across the continent. After first being postponed to 2021, there’s now a chance the tournament will be hosted in a single country to help ensure a safe environment for fans to attend games. UEFA president Gianni Infantino There were already 11 fixtures scheduled to be played in the UK, with four being held at Hampden Park in Glasgow, and seven to be played at Wembley Stadium in London, including both semi-f...
Ronald Koeman informs KNVB he wants to join Barcelona
Barcelona chiefs are reportedly holding talks with the Dutch Football Federation (KNVB) as they seek to appoint Ronald Koeman as their new head coach. Quique Setien was relieved of his duties on Monday evening after a meeting between Barcelona’s board of directors at the Camp Nou. Koeman is currently the coach of the Netherlands, but has previously revealed that there is a special clause in his contract that would allow him to take over at Barcelona. This clause was able to be activated after Euro 2020, but the postponement of that tournament and the uncertainty surrounding international football mean that he should be able to take over at the Camp Nou now. On Sunday, Koeman was spotted at Barcelona airport, where he was flying home to the Netherlands having already held talks with Barcelo...
Olivier Giroud explains decision to extend Chelsea stay
Getty Images Olivier Giroud has opened up on his decision to extend his stay at Chelsea, outlining his plans to “keep winning trophies” and show Frank Lampard “he can count on me”. Giroud completed a surprise move to Chelsea from Arsenal back in January 2018, and has since scored 21 goals in 76 outings for the club across all competitions. The World Cup winner played a key role in the Blues’ run to glory in the Europa League last season, but fell down the squad pecking order after Lampard was drafted in to replace Maurizio Sarri in the Stamford Bridge hot seat. Tammy Abraham has served as Chelsea’s first-choice centre-forward throughout the 2019-20 campaign, with Giroud restricted to just nine Premier League appearances in total. The 33-year-old was tipped to leave the club in January amid...
